SinB had been pacing her bedroom for the past fifteen minutes already. She couldn’t stop replaying that stupid kiss on the cheek. What had she been thinking? This was not the time to be trying to get a girlfriend. She had Umji to worry about, but then, how could she not? Yerin had looked at SinB with a warm softness that SinB had only ever dreamed of. While the feeling should’ve been put to an immediate stop when Yerin had said she wanted to be friends, SinB found herself holding onto that warmth.

She’d taken a chance and kissed Yerin’s cheek, and now all she could think was how much of a mistake it’d been. SinB should just take what she could get from Yerin at this point. After all the fights and lies and betrayal, shouldn’t friendship be good enough?

SinB rubbed at her eyes and finally stopped her incessant pacing. She needed to talk about this. Having this all in her head was going to drive her insane.

Grabbing her bookbag, SinB left the dorms and headed for the hospital wing. Since classes were going on, the halls were blissfully empty, so she walked without disturbance. However, this also gave her nothing to distract herself from the slight panic going on inside her mind.

By the time SinB made it to the hospital wing, there was a slight sheen of sweat on her skin from a near sprint pace coupled with nerves. SinB was sure she got a strange look from the nurse as she entered, but she was too preoccupied to notice.

SinB dropped her things beside her as she plopped down into her usual chair beside Umji. She sighed heavily and tried to figure out what to say. No words came, and instead, SinB found herself fidgeting almost uncontrollably.

Huffing irritably, SinB stood up again and resumed her pacing. She could practically hear Umji laughing, asking, “What’s got you all flustered like this?” At the realization that she had to imagine Umji’s reaction, SinB paused and turned to stare at her best friend.

Thanks to magic, Umji still looked perfectly health, cheeks round and skin just slightly paler than it’d been before. Her brown hair had been braided back at some point to keep it out of her face, and it now fell over her shoulder prettily. If SinB could lie to herself for long enough, she could convince herself that Umji was just sleeping. Umji was even wearing her own pajamas, courtesy of SinB and Eunha. If only Umji was simply sleeping…

“What am I going to do, Umji?” SinB asked softly, slowing her steps at the end of the bed. She placed her hands on the cool metal railing and leaned against it heavily. “See what happens when you’re gone?” SinB added with a slight smile.

If Umji had been awake, she surely would’ve sputtered indignantly at the accusation and retorted, “Oh, so it’s my fault that you and Eunha are running around with the emotional capacities of five year-olds?”

SinB’s smile faded, and she slowly pulled her hands away from the bed.

“I feel like I’ve lost almost everything,” SinB admitted into the quiet. She turned her back toward the bed, unable to face Umji as she confessed. “I still thankfully Eunha. I’m still doing well in classes, but what do classes matter?” A smirk tugged at the corner of SinB’s lips. “I know you think classes are the most important, Umji, but how can they even begin to compare to you, or even Yerin?”

Taking a deep breath, SinB turned back around with solemn eyes. “I thought I had everything figured out,” SinB said. “I planned on just graduating, still hated, but with you and Eunha by my side. But then Professor Jung assigns Yerin of all people to sit next to me and some goes around paralyzing muggleborns.” Smiling wryly, SinB said, “And then it all goes to .”

“It looks like I’ll have to decide things without your wisdom for once,” SinB whispered sadly. She dared to reach out a lightly run fingers over Umji’s blanket-covered form. She bit her lip then gently closed her hand around an unmoving ankle, willing herself not to cry. “I hope I don’t screw this up.”

SinB stood there for who knew how long.

Footsteps resounded from the hall, and SinB swiftly moved away from the foot of the bed and perched herself in the chair, grabbing a random textbook from her bag as she did so. By the time Eunha and Yuju walked into the hospital wing, SinB looked casual in her posture. Yuju’s eyes moved over her without a second thought, but SinB saw the way Eunha’s eyes narrowed ever so slightly.

Before Eunha could say something, SinB spoke up, “How was classes?”

“They were classes,” Yuju replied with a shrug. She smiled brightly and handed SinB a small box full of food from dinner.

SinB stared down at the food before briefly glancing at the darkened windows. She wondered how long she’d been standing at the foot of Umji’s bed.

“Is the food okay?” Yuju asked, concerned. Her eyebrows were adorably furrowed as she added, “Eunha said you liked all of those things.”

“Food’s great,” SinB reassured her, avoiding Eunha’s eyes glaring holes into the side of her head. “Thank you.”

As SinB ate, she made small talk with Yuju, Eunha occasionally chiming in with her own anecdotes from the day. If Eunha’s words were a bit terse, Yuju didn’t notice while SinB certainly did. SinB felt bad that Eunha clearly misunderstood and thought her talk with Yerin had gone poorly. Her assumption was proven correct when on the way to the library Eunha sidled next to her while Yuju walked on ahead.

“Do I need to go curse a pretty blonde?” Eunha offered blasely.

SinB snorted and shook her head. “No, definitely do not.”

“No?” Eunha double-checked then relaxed when SinB nodded. She smiled sweetly, a genuine kind of happiness gracing her face for the first time in a while. “Good,” Eunha murmured, bumping shoulders with SinB.

When the three of them make it to the library, Sowon and Yerin are already there at a table tucked away in a back corner. They quickly joined them, but after everyone settled, there was a moment of awkward silence.

Clearing , SinB addressed Yerin and Sowon, “Thank you for coming. I know we aren’t on the best of terms right now, but I do know we both want to put an end to this paralysis.” SinB couldn’t help the way her eyes flicked over to Sowon as she said the last part, and Sowon met her gaze guiltily. Looking away, SinB said, “I asked you to come here because I have a plan to catch this bastard.”

SinB hesitated, so Sowon nodded and said, “Go ahead and tell us.”

“I want to use Yuju as bait,” SinB blurted out nervously. She tensed as four pairs of eyes fly to look at her in disbelief. her lips, SinB continued before anyone could say anything, “I would never want to put Yuju in danger, but we’re running out of options. I’d do it myself, but I’m only a half-blood. Whoever’s doing this won’t want me. We’d have Yuju walk around past curfew, near where Umji was found. It’d look like she was alone, but we’d be hiding to protect her as soon as the bastard shows up.”

“Let’s do it,” Yuju said immediately, much to SinB’s surprise. As if sensing how taken aback SinB was, Yuju shot her a warm smile. “I want Umji back too, and I’m willing to take the risk.”

“Well, I’m not!” Sowon whisper-yelled. Her hands gripped the edge of the table dangerously tight, and SinB absently wondered if her nails would dig crescents into the wood. Sowon shook her head vehemently. “I don’t like it,” Sowon said. “This is too risky. What if something happens and Yuju gets paralyzed too?”

“Then you’ll at least have seen the person,” Yuju reasoned.

“I can’t risk you,” Sowon insisted. “You’re still my friend.”

“We can’t always protect our friends,” Eunha pointed out coldly.

Sowon shrank away from the words, and even SinB felt some sympathy toward the other girl. She’d been hurt by the accusation, but she’d moved on. SinB knew Eunha was just clutching at the dwindling remains of her own hurt, scared to trust Sowon again.

SinB took it upon herself to cut in before things could get worse. “Listen,” SinB said, “I just wanted to let you know out of politeness. Yuju has already agreed, so we’ll be continuing with the plan. It would be better to have more people watching her back though.”

Mentally preparing herself, SinB looked toward the one person she’d been avoiding eye contact with since she’d entered the library. Yerin met her gaze easily, looking thoughtful and serious. It felt like Yerin was looking into her soul, so doing her best not to squirm, SinB looked back to where Sowon seemed to be pleading with Yuju.

“No!” Yuju shouted, voice nearly going loud enough for them to get in trouble. Her face scrunched up as she tried to calm herself down, and SinB remembered when once upon a time she never would’ve given a second thought to this Hufflepuff. Now, SinB trusted her almost as much as Umji and Eunha. “I’m doing this,” Yuju told Sowon. “I can’t just sit around while Umji is still… like that.”

Sowon looked ready to go another round of arguing when Yerin cut in smoothly, saying, “I support you, Yuju.”

“You do?” Yuju asked in a soft voice, like she couldn’t quite believe it.

Yerin nodded. “I do.” Then her eyes looked past them and she added, “I think this is enough for tonight. It’s too crowded in the library. Next time, we’ll meet somewhere else.”

“Good idea,” Eunha agreed, and she smirked when Yerin blushed at the unexpected civility.

After agreeing to meet again in a few days, the five of them shuffled out of the library. When SinB tried to walk with Eunha and Yuju to the hospital wing, Yerin caught her robe sleeve.

“Can we talk?” Yerin asked, biting her lip.

SinB glanced at Eunha nervously before nodding, “Yeah, sure.”

Eunha clearly read the panic in SinB’s eyes and snorted. She looped arms with Yuju and started to drag her away. When Yuju asked why SinB was staying back, Eunha whispered something that had Yuju bursting into laughter. SinB watched them go with narrowed eyes before turning back to Yerin.

“Let’s walk,” Yerin said to her, tucking her hand into the crook of SinB’s elbow to tug her toward the dorms. She kept her hand there as they walked, and SinB tried not to focus on just how warm it made her feel. “Are we okay?” Yerin asked after they had walked in silence for a while.

SinB frowned slightly and glanced at Yerin from the corner of her eye. “Of course,” SinB said. “Thanks for having my back in there,” she added absent-mindedly, and she knew they both were thinking of when Yerin hadn’t had SinB’s back.

“I’m not gonna make the same mistake twice,” Yerin told her softly. She slowed her steps and turned to SinB. In the darkness with only torchlight to illuminate her, Yerin looked especially stunning under the warm glow. Without thinking, SinB reached out and tucked an imaginary strand of hair behind Yerin’s ear. She smiled when Yerin blushed. “Why do you do that?” Yerin asked.

SinB immediately pulled her hand away, but Yerin caught her wrist in the small space between them. Now SinB could feel herself blushing as Yerin stared at her curiously.

“You stare at me like…” Yerin trailed off.

her lips, SinB repeated weakly, “Like?”

“Like you love me,” Yerin finished in a whisper. She held SinB’s gaze for a moment longer before dropping it and her wrist. Yerin sighed deeply and turned away, saying, “I’m sorry–”

SinB cut her off before she could say more though. She pulled Yerin toward her, saying screw the consequences, and kissed her.

SinB was no stranger to kissing or everything that followed.

She'd been fifteen when she propositioned a seventh year with far more confidence than she felt. To her immense surprise and relief, the seventh year had giggled at her bravado and agreed. She'd taken SinB to her bed and shown her everything there was to know about pleasuring someone. After that, SinB would occasionally see the seventh year for stress relief, gaining more experience in what to and what not to do. When the seventh year graduated, she gave SinB one last kiss and wink.

With her usual partner gone, SinB sought out a new one during her sixth year. She knew it would have to be someone in her house, and she had to fight a smile when a seventh year had shyly approached her in early winter. She was cute and prudent enough not to go around telling everyone who she was sleeping with. The last thing either of them needed was gossip floating around the school about them. It worked well and when she graduated just like the last girl, she gave SinB a hug and wished her happiness.

Yet everything she did with those girls couldn't compare to the rush SinB got as she kissed Yerin for the first time.

SinB wrapped her arms around Yerin’s waist, pulling her close while simultaneously marveling at her soft curves. She felt like she was drowning in the best way, feeling Yerin like she was touching every fiber of SinB’s being. The kiss was passionate and messy, and SinB just wanted more.

As Yerin’s fingers tangled in SinB’s hair, the two of them stumbled against a nearby wall. Yerin gasped as her back hit the stone wall roughly, and SinB took the chance to slip her tongue into . SinB could feel her eyes nearly roll into the back of her head when Yerin whimpered, and she knew then that she had to stop this before it went too far.

SinB pulled away, laughing breathlessly when Yerin chased after her lips for a few more chaste kisses. When she opened her eyes, she found Yerin staring up at her with half-lidded eyes. SinB smiled and cupped Yerin’s face gently, running her thumb over Yerin’s cheek gently.

“There’s so much I want to say,” SinB told her, “but I can’t right now. Not when I can’t devote myself wholly to you.”

Yerin flushed at the words ‘devote’ and ‘wholly,’ but she nodded. She smiled widely and kissed SinB. It was a quick kiss, but it still sent SinB’s eyes fluttering. “I understand,” Yerin said. She giggled and when SinB looked at her questioningly, Yerin explained, “And here I was, thinking that you still hated me.”

SinB laughed too, blushing. “I don’t think I’ve ever hated you,” she admitted shyly.

“You make it so hard to not just drag you into a broom closet,” Yerin sighed, a teasing smile on her lips. She hugged SinB tightly and murmured, “I’ve missed this. The banter, the teasing… I’ve missed you.”

SinB hugged her back just as tight and replied, “I’ve missed you too.” She pulled away and said, “Come on, it’s getting late. I’ll walk you back to your dorm.”

“No,” Yerin shook her head. “I don’t want to be alone.”

“You’ll have Sowon,” SinB pointed out, already sensing where Yerin was going with this. Part of her was embarrassed, but a larger part of her was infinitely relieved to find that the angry and guilty tension between them was gone. In its place was something lighter and much more enjoyable. “You’ll see me in a few hours.”

“You expect me to just want to leave after a kiss like that?” Yerin teased before bursting into giggles when SinB blushed. She kept her arms around SinB’s neck and tugged her close. “Let me stay with you for the night. Please.”

“Yerin…”

“Just to sleep,” Yerin assured her with a smile that was anything but innocent. Her playfulness faded away to a much more solemn look as she said, “It feels like I’ve just gotten you back. I don’t want to be away from you right now.”

How could SinB say no to that? Especially when all she wanted to do was hold Yerin in her arms and never let her go?

With an exaggerated sigh, SinB held Yerin’s hand and started walking them in the direction of the Slytherin dorms. Yerin cheered when she realized she won, kissing SinB’s cheek happily.

“If I get caught with a lion in my bed, I’ll never hear the end of it,” SinB complained.

Yerin laughed and said, “Don’t worry. I’ll protect you.”